When someone says they are on cloud nine, they are implying they are on top of the world. They are extremely happy with the way things are, and as far as they are concerned, God is in his heaven and all is right with the world! The idiom has more or less the same meaning as another popular expression – in seventh heaven. According to some scholars, the expression in seventh heaven gave rise to on cloud seven; it was only years later that ‘seven’ changed to ‘nine’. What is of interest to note is that the frequently heard expression, on cloud nine, is not even a hundred years old.
When Shoba heard she had been promoted, she was on cloud nine.
I was on cloud nine when my daughter was made captain of the cricket team.
Meteorologists, who take special interest in clouds, label thunderstorm clouds as ‘cloud nine’. These clouds, also known as cumulonimbus clouds, rise to over 40, 000 feet. So, if you are ‘on’ one of them and looking down, there is every reason for you to be ecstatic – for you will be on top of the world! Radio buffs believe that the weekly series about a private investigator, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, broadcast in the 1950s, popularised the use of the idiom.
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